Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Italian men were once worshipped and adored by foreign women. Sadly it is no longer the case. According to a poll by Vie del Gusto, 8 out of 10 women who come to Italy do not fall for the flirty Italian men. The Latin Lover has lost his touch. Literally. Remember those pinches on Roman buses? Forget them. These days the only thing you might get pinched is your wallet.The downfall began with an article in the Guardian describing the Italian man as " MAMMONE", a person excessively attached to his mother, a mama's boy, or "mummy's boy" as they put it (The Guardian, May 14, 2002).In 2007, to further downgrade the Italian male ego, the then Economic Minister Padoa Schioppa said Italian men were "BAMBOCCIONI", that is, infants, babies. Young men who behave childishly and can't take care of themselves, in other words, spoiled brats.The tipping point came in October 2012 when Welfare Minister Elsa Fornero accused Italian young men of being "CHOOSY". No need for translation. It means just that, choosy. She meant it in the sense that Italian men, instead of settling for any kind of job, passively wait for their ideal job. This caused an uproar all over Italy, and rightly so. There aren't any jobs in Italy, young peope send out hundreds of CVs monthly without ever getting so much as one reply. Once upon a time, we would see job advertisements in newspapers, pathetic ones like these "Cercasi segretaria bella presenza, massimo 25 anni" (Wanted: good-looking secretary, maximum 25 years old), but at least there were offers, now you don't see job advertisements of any kind anywhere. You can't get a job even if you've got money, connections and recommendations all put together!So, what is our Italian sex god, stripped of his Latin Lover status, going to do to seduce a woman? He is going to COOK for her!Gastrosexuals have been around for years (i.e. Jamie Oliver, Anthony Bardain, Nick Stellino, Alessandro Borghese, Buddy, to name just a few) but only now they are appearing on the Italian scene, notably, Carlo Cracco and Mattia Nicoletti (see article by Francesca Gambarini in A (Anna) November 29, 2012. Due to the economic crisis, more and more women, single and not, are going out to join the work force (if they are lucky to find a job) and they don't want to have anything to do with cooking. This is where our Gastrosexual Italian ex-macho comes in, ready to cook and conquer women's hearts. Perhaps with the world-renowned dish Fegato alla Veneziana. Venetian liver. written by Fancesca Edesia aka saucysiciliana

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Isn't he gorgeous? Dressed in red, my favorite color! GO UP, the latest model of shopping trolleys, with flexible handles, and two sets of wheels so that you can push it instead of pulling it, causing less physical strain. It can be folded to occupy very little space, it has a special pocket for frozen items and it has a modern look. It can also be used as a walker...if you are not so young:)

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Trapani is famous for its huge and numerous salt ponds. Usually salt is collected around September/October but due to the recent heavy rains, it is still left out to dry. If you run out of salt, you know where to go:)